Many video games attempt to recreate realistic situations. For example, video games simulating sports games and matches are popular. They commonly even show actual leagues with correct teams. hometowns may be shown, with realistic stadiums. Athletes' uniforms represent professional athletes' actual uniforms. Specific athletes are represented. For example, an image of Shaquile O'Neil may be used as one of the players on the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. Kobe Bryant and all of Shaquile's actual teammates may be on the team with him.
But the realism goes far beyond just images. The video game characters have characteristics approximating their real life counterparts. For example, the video game Shaquile may be very good at dunking the basketball, but horrible at shooting freethrows. Parameters are stored on the video game medium that cause the different characters to replicate their real life counterparts' performance.
Video game producers typically produce professional sports video games once per year. The performance parameters and visual aspects are typically specified based on the most recent year. For example, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants baseball team had a homerun average of (73 homeruns)/(476 at bats)=15.3 percent during the 2001 season. This average can be used to set a video game parameter so that the video game character Barry Bonds has a similar tendency to hit homeruns. A problem with this system is that the performance parameters and visual aspects of a video game are fixed at the time the video game is produced.
The players of this type of game continually demand increased realism in such games. For example, more and more parameters are added to distinguish one character from another and to more accurately simulate the performance of real life athletes. Also, the realism of the visual aspects of players, teams and stadiums is continually increased. For example, the ivy on the outfield wall of Wrigley Field in Chicago may be shown in a baseball video game.
The problem remains that visual aspects and performance characteristics of real life sports players, teams and environments change throughout the year.